Tracker App

Quick Draft IKO 15 May 2021

15 May 05:25 - Bleuet04 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (18)
1 Trumpeting Gnarr image
1 Greater Sandwurm image
2 Thieving Otter image
2 Archipelagore image
1 Bristling Boar image
1 Pollywog Symbiote image
1 Migratory Greathorn image
1 Wingfold Pteron image
1 Gemrazer image
1 Lore Drakkis image
1 Glowstone Recluse image
1 Glimmerbell image
2 Almighty Brushwagg image
2 Humble Naturalist image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (7)
1 Of One Mind image
1 Neutralize image
1 Shark Typhoon image
3 Ram Through image
1 Mystic Subdual image
Land (16)
1 Rugged Highlands image
7 Forest image
1 Thornwood Falls image
7 Island image
Sideboard
1 Imposing Vantasaur image
1 Wingfold Pteron image
1 Savai Sabertooth image
1 Lava Serpent image
1 Frenzied Raptor image
1 Honey Mammoth image
1 Mosscoat Goriak image
1 Humble Naturalist image
1 Excavation Mole image
1 Heightened Reflexes image
1 Blazing Volley image
1 Convolute image
1 Weaponize the Monsters image
1 Scoured Barrens image
1 Jungle Hollow image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Shark Typhoon
Shark Typhoon image 5.0 You have two options here. One of these is that you can pay 6 mana for an Enchantment that probably won’t actually add to the board until your next turn -- and sometimes it won’t even add to the board then. The other is that you can cycle this and pay like 6 mana -- which results in you getting a 4/4 flying Shark at instant speed while also drawing you a card. So, the latter option here is the one that I think you choose most often, and the fact that that is an option at all is great, because sometimes you just won’t end up with enough noncreature spells to really abuse the Enchantment itself -- but the fail case you’re getting out of the deal is still quite powerful, and could easily result in 2-for-1s and even 3-for-1s.
Valiant Rescuer image 4.0 This is a premium Cycling payoff, as it can rapidly flood the board with tokens to overwhelm your opponent. And, it has Cycling too, which means if you are trying to win the game with other Cycling payoffs, you can just cycle it away!
Pollywog Symbiote image 3.0 A two mana ⅓ that reduces the cost of cards with Mutate would probably be a nice payoff to have in Mutate-heavy decks. It gets even better since the Symbiote lets you loot whenever it mutates, which is pretty great.
Archipelagore image 4.0 The ideal thing you want to do is play this for the Mutate cost, since it gives you a discount on the card and gives you the powerful Mutate trigger -- tapping down one of your opponent’s creatures for a turn is no joke, especially because if you put the Archipelagore on to something that was on the battlefield the previous turn (which is likely) it can get in there and rumble right away! Obviously, the more it mutates, the more tapping you get to do, and that’s awesome. And yeah, doesn’t hurt that if you have this and no creatures, you can at least pay 7 mana for a 7/7 with some Mutate upside.
Fully Grown image 1.5 I have a hard time liking 3-mana combat tricks in most situations. It makes the risk of a blowout even more painful because of the extra mana you’re paying. And sure, +3/+3 will frequently be enough to win combat, and it is nice that the creature permanently gets Trample, instead of just temporarily, but tricks are just so situational, that I really only like the idea of them at lower mana costs in most cases.
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
Vulpikeet image 2.5 This starts out with some pretty unimpressive stats, but the real value here comes from the Mutate, which will often give a pretty nice boost to one of your creatures – Flying AND a +1/+1 counter. Now, Mutate is inherently risky, and this isn’t the kind of mutate card that gives you some sort of value that sticks around no matter what – this will just die, and that will suck sometimes, but this can also be a pretty nice card for aggro decks trying to win in a hurry.
Frostveil Ambush image 3.0 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Solid Footing image 1.5 This is an interesting Vigilance payoff, and you’ll play it sometimes if you have enough Vigilance, because in those scenarios it gives a big boost for only one mana. You’ll cut this a lot, though.
Nightsquad Commando image 2.5 So, if this was a 3-mana 2/3 who always gave you that 1/1 would be quite nice. However, you have to fulfill the “Raid” trigger here to get that 1/1. And while that’s not the craziest hoop to jump through, it won’t always be worth it.
Divine Arrow image 3.0 This is certainly situational, but also fairly efficient. You’re going to be spending only two mana to kill something, which will usually be less than your opponent paid for their creature. It might fall a little short of premium, but it is a nice removal spell.
Sleeper Dart image 1.0 This isn’t great, and is basically only the kind of card you run when you don’t have enough playables. It replaces itself, but the effect it has is really negligible.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Capture Sphere image 3.5 This is usually not quite premium removal since it is kind of expensive and doesn’t take away static abilities. However, in a set loaded up with Mutate, it gets a lot better, as sometimes your opponent will be taking the risk of mutating, but suddenly that means Capture Sphere can effectively give you a 2-for-1.
Mountain image
Pack 1 Pick 2: Ram Through
Keensight Mentor image 2.5 Vigilance isn’t the most amazing keyword ability -- it doesn’t make a creature Evasive or anything, but its fine. And, at worst, this like all the Mentors just gives one thing Vigilance, and then in the later game you can pay mana to make that creature progressively larger. That’s a nice late-game mana sink, and if you have more creatures with Vigilance it can become a legitimate problem for your opponent.
Skull Prophet image 4.0 Wow, talk about a Cycling payoff. Sure, you have to have the mana to spend, but Cycling in this set usually costs 1-2 mana, so it isn’t a stretch to be able to pay the 2, and when you do, you get to start killing smaller stuff and gaining life, which is pretty awesome. It is nice you get something out of the trigger even if you don’t actually kill their creature -- getting some life no matter what is not too bad. On top of that, it is just a nice aggressive body as a 2-mana 3/2.
Zagoth Mamba image 3.0 The fail case of being a one mana 1/1 is pretty ugly, so you definitely need to be able to do some Mutating to make it worth while. The good news is, there is plenty of Mutate in this set, and when you do get this trigger -- which will frequently let you pick off small creatures, or even larger ones if you do it after combat -- when you do get that trigger it will be pretty nice, and offset some of the risks of Mutating.
Durable Coilbug image 2.5 This has decent Bear stats, and isn’t a bad mana sink in the late game.
Memory Leak image 3.5 This is a situational discard effect that becomes useless in the late game. However! It has Cycling 1, and that gives everything a big upgrade in this format – you can cycle it away when it doesn’t do a thing, and when it can do a thing it isn’t too shabby.
Adaptive Shimmerer image 1.5 The idea here is that you mutate on top of this, giving +3/+3 to whatever stats your mutated creature has. It also has Flash, and there are a few cards that care about that. Still, as far as payoffs and enablers go, this is pretty darn inefficient.
Frostveil Ambush image 3.0 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Sudden Spinnerets image 1.0 This doesn’t give a big enough boost to help your creature win combat often enough, and a Reach counter isn’t very exciting.
Frenzied Raptor image 1.5 Vanilla 3-mana 4/2s will make the cut sometimes, but you kind of hope they don’t.
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
Farfinder image 3.5 We have seen cards like Skittering Surveyor and Pilgrim’s Eye be really nice sources of fixing in the past. And this set is a wedge set, where splashing a third color and even straight up playing a third color will happen a decent chunk of the time. On top of that, this is not the worst thing to Mutate on top of, since it at least gives your new monster the Vigilance keyword.
Garrison Cat image 1.5 This is a one drop that replaces itself, which isn’t too bad. It is also something you can mutate on to very early, and still getting a 1/1 when your mutated creature dies is okay upside. You still won’t play this most of the time, but it can be passable.
Ram Through image 4.0 This is a great removal spell for Green. First, it is NOT a fight card, but a “punch” card – that is, your creature damages the opposing creature, but it doesn’t get damaged itself! That makes it much less risky, even if you do need to be a little careful, since if your creature that is Ramming Through gets killed in response, you get 2-for-1’d. But the upside here is well worth that! As an Instant, you will more easily find situations that aren’t risky, AND it has the Trample upside that will sometimes be crazy. This is premium removal.
Swamp image
Pack 1 Pick 3: Thieving Otter
Charge of the Forever-Beast image 3.0 When this works, it feels pretty good – but there are a lot of times where this doesn’t do anything – like if you don’t have a creature in your hand of a large enough size for the spell to actually matter, and that happens more often than you might think.
Lead the Stampede image 2.0 Most of the time, this will just be Green Divination, which is fine, but not amazing. Sometimes it will draw you more – but sometimes it will also draw you less.
Keensight Mentor image 2.5 Vigilance isn’t the most amazing keyword ability -- it doesn’t make a creature Evasive or anything, but its fine. And, at worst, this like all the Mentors just gives one thing Vigilance, and then in the later game you can pay mana to make that creature progressively larger. That’s a nice late-game mana sink, and if you have more creatures with Vigilance it can become a legitimate problem for your opponent.
Unlikely Aid image 2.0 While the boost it gives is not permanent, 2 power + indestructible is going to make a wider variety of creatures win combat in a wider variety of situations. Because of indestructible, you can use it in response to removal and things like that too if it comes up. Now, this is STILL a trick, and I have a hard time ever really loving them because they are situational and somewhat risky, but this is a trick you’ll play a significant amount of the time.
Thieving Otter image 2.5 A 3-mana 2/2 that draws you a card when it hits the opponent would probably normally be kind of alright. It has a great ability, but actually getting in to draw you that card is difficult pretty much all game. But, this isn’t an ordinary format. There are keyword counters all over the place, and of course there is mutate. Playing this on turn 3, and then mutating something on to it later that has more size and/or abilities is going to feel pretty good. You still are dealing with a kind of ugly fail case on this little guy, but I think the upside is real enough that you end up playing this in most of your Blue decks, and it may even be better than that if you have enough Mutate going on. One combo with a couple of Commons is to play Otter turn 3, and then mutate the Heron onto it on turn 4 -- suddenly you have a ¾ flyer that draws you a card when it mutates and when it hits the opponent. This will happen a lot in this format.
Savai Sabertooth image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be fine two drops for aggressive decks.
Lava Serpent image 3.5 A 6-mana 5/5 with Haste would make the cut some of the time, and this has Cycling, giving it a huge upgrade in a format that really cares about Cycling. You can just throw it away if you get it early, and then in the late game it can be a problem for your opponent.
Gloom Pangolin image 1.0 A ⅕ for 3 might be something you play in slower more controlling decks sometimes -- it can block pretty effectively, but I think most of the time you won’t REALLY want this, and you’ll play it when you’re desperate for creatures, and that’s about it.
Honey Mammoth image 2.5 It isn’t exciting, but a 6-mana 6/6 that gains you 4 life can go a long way towards helping you stabilize against more aggressive decks.
Drannith Stinger image 4.0 5-mana for a 5/4 Reach is fairly passable, and adding a rummage mutate effect is fine.
Almighty Brushwagg image 2.5 This card is a real overperformer. A one-mana 1/1 with Trample is pretty laughable, but the ability is surprisingly effective, and you end up in situations where you can use it twice more often than you’d think! The Brushwagg is also great for mutating on to, since Trample and that ability are much better served on a larger creature.
Patagia Tiger image 2.5 A 5-mana ¾ Flyer is usually a serviceable card in Limited.. This brings some pretty real additional upside, in that it can pump humans. White and Black especially have a lot of humans, and in those decks this will be a nice common because it will frequently give one of your Humans an attack that wouldn’t have worked before the Tiger came down.
Plains image
Pack 1 Pick 4: Archipelagore
Keensight Mentor image 2.5 Vigilance isn’t the most amazing keyword ability -- it doesn’t make a creature Evasive or anything, but its fine. And, at worst, this like all the Mentors just gives one thing Vigilance, and then in the later game you can pay mana to make that creature progressively larger. That’s a nice late-game mana sink, and if you have more creatures with Vigilance it can become a legitimate problem for your opponent.
Pollywog Symbiote image 3.0 A two mana ⅓ that reduces the cost of cards with Mutate would probably be a nice payoff to have in Mutate-heavy decks. It gets even better since the Symbiote lets you loot whenever it mutates, which is pretty great.
Archipelagore image 4.0 The ideal thing you want to do is play this for the Mutate cost, since it gives you a discount on the card and gives you the powerful Mutate trigger -- tapping down one of your opponent’s creatures for a turn is no joke, especially because if you put the Archipelagore on to something that was on the battlefield the previous turn (which is likely) it can get in there and rumble right away! Obviously, the more it mutates, the more tapping you get to do, and that’s awesome. And yeah, doesn’t hurt that if you have this and no creatures, you can at least pay 7 mana for a 7/7 with some Mutate upside.
Spelleater Wolverine image 2.5 This is a nice little aggressive creature in this format, and it slots quite nicely into UR spells, but also into RW Cycling decks, since they tend to throw all kinds of cards with Cycling into the graveyard, including a bunch of instants and sorceries! Basically, it is way easier to get double strike online here than it looks.
Facet Reader image 2.0 In a set with Cycling, this type of ability is much less impressive, since a lot of your cards will already be able to do this. It is still fine and will make the cut some, but less often than usual.
Fertilid image 3.0 A three mana 2/2 isn’t especially good, but the fixing Fertilid provides for you is quite nice. Green usually gets nice commons for Splashing or going three colors, and that’s what this is. It has the ability to grab a couple of land over a few turns, and that is nice -- helps mitigate against mana screw, helps you find your colors, etc., If you don’t really need to fix when you play it, it also makes a good creature to mutate on to.
Light of Hope image 1.0 This is modal, but none of the effects on it are especially good.
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 As always, this provides excellent fixing. It lets you splash a card off of only a single basic land, and that’s great consistency. Even in a two color deck, the impact it has on your mana is substantial.
Glimmerbell image 2.0 This is here to be something sweet to Mutate on to, especially early. The Flying and Untap ability on a much larger creature can feel pretty good! It has a decent fail case too.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Sleeper Dart image 1.0 This isn’t great, and is basically only the kind of card you run when you don’t have enough playables. It replaces itself, but the effect it has is really negligible.
Scoured Barrens image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Imposing Vantasaur
Channeled Force image 1.5 This is not especially easy to make work. It lets you rummage and then damage stuff, but the set up of having to have a bunch of cards in your hand just isn’t going to be worth that a lot of the time.
Blade Banish image 2.5 This is situational for sure, but this format has a whole lot of big bois, so it is a little better than usual. It is also an Instant, which means you can sometimes really get a blow out.
Memory Leak image 3.5 This is a situational discard effect that becomes useless in the late game. However! It has Cycling 1, and that gives everything a big upgrade in this format – you can cycle it away when it doesn’t do a thing, and when it can do a thing it isn’t too shabby.
Tentative Connection image 2.0 There are a couple of things going on here that make this a little better than most Threaten effects. First, when you can discount this because you have a Menace creature, it will feel pretty good – especially because Menace creatures already pair well with a Threaten effect. The other thing is, there are some efficient ways to sacrifice creatures in this format, and that means stealing an opposing creature and sacrificing it is pretty doable.
Heightened Reflexes image 1.5 When tricks cost one mana, I start to get interested, as the pain of getting 2-for-1’s is no longer accompanied with a big tempo hit, and it is just easier to have the spare mana around. Still, this boost isn’t amazing -- +1/+0 and First Strike will win a fair number of combats, but it isn’t really a boost that makes it happen enough.
Anticipate image 1.5 This is always fine, but never much more than that. It is a very replaceable effect, gives you some reasonable card selection.
Survivors' Bond image 2.0 If you can set this up reliably to get two cards back from your graveyard, it is a decent thing to have a singleton copy of, since in the late game it can really pull you ahead.
Lava Serpent image 3.5 A 6-mana 5/5 with Haste would make the cut some of the time, and this has Cycling, giving it a huge upgrade in a format that really cares about Cycling. You can just throw it away if you get it early, and then in the late game it can be a problem for your opponent.
Imposing Vantasaur image 3.0 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is a pretty high pick, and way better than it looks! It can be a big defensive creature if that’s what you need, but you can also just throw it away to look for something better – while also triggering all of your cycling payoffs.
Blazing Volley image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. There just aren’t enough things this kills for it to be a main deck card in this format.
Swamp image
Pack 1 Pick 6: Mystic Subdual
General's Enforcer image 3.5 So, a two mana ⅔ who can make 1/1 tokens out of stuff in graveyards is pretty nice, but don’t expect the legendary upside to come up.
Mystic Subdual image 3.0 This doesn’t get a rid of a blocker entirely, but it does completely shut off an opposing creature, even hosing Mutate! That’s a pretty good deal for two mana.
Blazing Volley image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. There just aren’t enough things this kills for it to be a main deck card in this format.
Bushmeat Poacher image 3.0 This is a very nice activated ability. Cashing in creatures for cards is always a nice thing to have in Limited, because it isn’t unusual for some of your early creatures to become kind of useless as the game wears on, and this gives you something really nice to do with them -- gaining life and drawing a card is great. Any time those two are put together I’m pretty happy, because the life you gain makes it more likely you’ll be able to use that extra card you drew before you die. You can also use it in response to removal, or on a creature who has been shut down by an Aura. This can also be used to sacrifice creatures who are blocking and would die anyway. A 4-mana 2/4 isn’t even the worst stats ever, and overall this is pretty nice in slower Black decks.
Mosscoat Goriak image 2.0 This is some decent stats for three mana, especially because with Vigilance, he will often be able to attack on boards where he also happens to be a good blocker, and Vigilance lets him do both.
Solid Footing image 1.5 This is an interesting Vigilance payoff, and you’ll play it sometimes if you have enough Vigilance, because in those scenarios it gives a big boost for only one mana. You’ll cut this a lot, though.
Startling Development image 3.0 Another highly situational card with one mana cycling, Startling Development is much better than it looks. The 4/4 part will come up sometimes, and when it does it will be nice! But yeah, the real power here comes from being able to Cycle away for one mana.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Adaptive Shimmerer image 1.5 The idea here is that you mutate on top of this, giving +3/+3 to whatever stats your mutated creature has. It also has Flash, and there are a few cards that care about that. Still, as far as payoffs and enablers go, this is pretty darn inefficient.
Island image
Pack 1 Pick 7: Bristling Boar
General's Enforcer image 3.5 So, a two mana ⅔ who can make 1/1 tokens out of stuff in graveyards is pretty nice, but don’t expect the legendary upside to come up.
Barrier Breach image 2.5 This is another situational card that would normally be unplayable, but Cycling means that you’ll play it a decent amount of the time.
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
Bristling Boar image 2.5 Making it so the only way it dies in combat is if your opponent has one creature that can do 3 damage is surprisingly effective, and grants it an evasive ability -- albeit a weak one. A 4-mana 4/3 is usually playable-ish anyway, and the upside here is real.
Dark Bargain image 1.5 We see this kind of card a lot, and it is always pretty medium. Even in a set with a graveyard deck, I’m not super pumped about this because of the cost.
Bushmeat Poacher image 3.0 This is a very nice activated ability. Cashing in creatures for cards is always a nice thing to have in Limited, because it isn’t unusual for some of your early creatures to become kind of useless as the game wears on, and this gives you something really nice to do with them -- gaining life and drawing a card is great. Any time those two are put together I’m pretty happy, because the life you gain makes it more likely you’ll be able to use that extra card you drew before you die. You can also use it in response to removal, or on a creature who has been shut down by an Aura. This can also be used to sacrifice creatures who are blocking and would die anyway. A 4-mana 2/4 isn’t even the worst stats ever, and overall this is pretty nice in slower Black decks.
Pyroceratops image 3.0 This is a nice spell payoff that can big in a hurry, which feels good when you have Trample along for the ride.
Aegis Turtle image 1.0 Purely defensive creatures like this just aren’t worth it these days. Sure, it is an early non-Human you can Mutate on to in a hurry, but you’d much rather be Mutating on to something that gives you some sort of ability, instead of just being a vehicle on which to mutate.
Forest image
Pack 1 Pick 8: Thieving Otter
Zagoth Crystal image 2.5 The crystals all provide good fixing – something you want a lot of the time in this format – and they all have Cycling, which means when you draw one and don’t really need the fixing, you can just throw it away to draw another card.
Light of Hope image 1.0 This is modal, but none of the effects on it are especially good.
Thieving Otter image 2.5 A 3-mana 2/2 that draws you a card when it hits the opponent would probably normally be kind of alright. It has a great ability, but actually getting in to draw you that card is difficult pretty much all game. But, this isn’t an ordinary format. There are keyword counters all over the place, and of course there is mutate. Playing this on turn 3, and then mutating something on to it later that has more size and/or abilities is going to feel pretty good. You still are dealing with a kind of ugly fail case on this little guy, but I think the upside is real enough that you end up playing this in most of your Blue decks, and it may even be better than that if you have enough Mutate going on. One combo with a couple of Commons is to play Otter turn 3, and then mutate the Heron onto it on turn 4 -- suddenly you have a ¾ flyer that draws you a card when it mutates and when it hits the opponent. This will happen a lot in this format.
Survivors' Bond image 2.0 If you can set this up reliably to get two cards back from your graveyard, it is a decent thing to have a singleton copy of, since in the late game it can really pull you ahead.
Frenzied Raptor image 1.5 Vanilla 3-mana 4/2s will make the cut sometimes, but you kind of hope they don’t.
Sudden Spinnerets image 1.0 This doesn’t give a big enough boost to help your creature win combat often enough, and a Reach counter isn’t very exciting.
Convolute image 1.5 We see this a lot, and it is never that good. Leaving mana up for a counterspell is a big cost, and this one isn’t even a hard counter.
Mountain image
Pack 1 Pick 9: Pollywog Symbiote
Pollywog Symbiote image 3.0 A two mana ⅓ that reduces the cost of cards with Mutate would probably be a nice payoff to have in Mutate-heavy decks. It gets even better since the Symbiote lets you loot whenever it mutates, which is pretty great.
Fully Grown image 1.5 I have a hard time liking 3-mana combat tricks in most situations. It makes the risk of a blowout even more painful because of the extra mana you’re paying. And sure, +3/+3 will frequently be enough to win combat, and it is nice that the creature permanently gets Trample, instead of just temporarily, but tricks are just so situational, that I really only like the idea of them at lower mana costs in most cases.
Solid Footing image 1.5 This is an interesting Vigilance payoff, and you’ll play it sometimes if you have enough Vigilance, because in those scenarios it gives a big boost for only one mana. You’ll cut this a lot, though.
Nightsquad Commando image 2.5 So, if this was a 3-mana 2/3 who always gave you that 1/1 would be quite nice. However, you have to fulfill the “Raid” trigger here to get that 1/1. And while that’s not the craziest hoop to jump through, it won’t always be worth it.
Sleeper Dart image 1.0 This isn’t great, and is basically only the kind of card you run when you don’t have enough playables. It replaces itself, but the effect it has is really negligible.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Mountain image
Pack 1 Pick 10: Wingfold Pteron
Memory Leak image 3.5 This is a situational discard effect that becomes useless in the late game. However! It has Cycling 1, and that gives everything a big upgrade in this format – you can cycle it away when it doesn’t do a thing, and when it can do a thing it isn’t too shabby.
Adaptive Shimmerer image 1.5 The idea here is that you mutate on top of this, giving +3/+3 to whatever stats your mutated creature has. It also has Flash, and there are a few cards that care about that. Still, as far as payoffs and enablers go, this is pretty darn inefficient.
Sudden Spinnerets image 1.0 This doesn’t give a big enough boost to help your creature win combat often enough, and a Reach counter isn’t very exciting.
Frenzied Raptor image 1.5 Vanilla 3-mana 4/2s will make the cut sometimes, but you kind of hope they don’t.
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
Swamp image
Pack 1 Pick 11: Honey Mammoth
Lead the Stampede image 2.0 Most of the time, this will just be Green Divination, which is fine, but not amazing. Sometimes it will draw you more – but sometimes it will also draw you less.
Unlikely Aid image 2.0 While the boost it gives is not permanent, 2 power + indestructible is going to make a wider variety of creatures win combat in a wider variety of situations. Because of indestructible, you can use it in response to removal and things like that too if it comes up. Now, this is STILL a trick, and I have a hard time ever really loving them because they are situational and somewhat risky, but this is a trick you’ll play a significant amount of the time.
Gloom Pangolin image 1.0 A ⅕ for 3 might be something you play in slower more controlling decks sometimes -- it can block pretty effectively, but I think most of the time you won’t REALLY want this, and you’ll play it when you’re desperate for creatures, and that’s about it.
Honey Mammoth image 2.5 It isn’t exciting, but a 6-mana 6/6 that gains you 4 life can go a long way towards helping you stabilize against more aggressive decks.
Plains image
Pack 1 Pick 12: Scoured Barrens
Facet Reader image 2.0 In a set with Cycling, this type of ability is much less impressive, since a lot of your cards will already be able to do this. It is still fine and will make the cut some, but less often than usual.
Light of Hope image 1.0 This is modal, but none of the effects on it are especially good.
Sleeper Dart image 1.0 This isn’t great, and is basically only the kind of card you run when you don’t have enough playables. It replaces itself, but the effect it has is really negligible.
Scoured Barrens image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Heightened Reflexes
Heightened Reflexes image 1.5 When tricks cost one mana, I start to get interested, as the pain of getting 2-for-1’s is no longer accompanied with a big tempo hit, and it is just easier to have the spare mana around. Still, this boost isn’t amazing -- +1/+0 and First Strike will win a fair number of combats, but it isn’t really a boost that makes it happen enough.
Blazing Volley image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. There just aren’t enough things this kills for it to be a main deck card in this format.
Swamp image
Pack 1 Pick 14: Blazing Volley
Blazing Volley image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. There just aren’t enough things this kills for it to be a main deck card in this format.
Island image
Pack 1 Pick 15: Forest
Forest image
Pack 2 Pick 1: Gemrazer
Gemrazer image 4.0 A 4-mana 4/4 with Reach and Trample is great. Mutate Naturalize is nice too, as is being able to put this on to something to make it a 4/4 and give some extra keyword abilities. I always like being able to run mainboard Artifact and Enchantment hate, and this makes that really easy.
Majestic Auricorn image 2.5 A 5-mana 4/4 with Vigilance isn’t great, but it would make the cut sometimes. If you’re playing this for its Mutate cost on turn 4, you’re probably upgrading one of your creatures to a 4/4 vigilance and gaining 4 life. Other times, you’ll be paying 4 to give something bigger vigilance and gain 4 life. While that’s decent, the reward you get for the risk here isn’t amazing.
Lore Drakkis image 3.5 So, getting an instant or sorcery back from the yard is a pretty nice mutate trigger, but the actual creature here is nothing very impressive. However, spending two Hybrid Red/Blue mana to get an instant or sorcery back from the graveyard is a nice rate, and of course it means that the more you mutate in one stack, the more times you get to do it. So yeah, the real draw here is the trigger, which means you will mutate this under stuff most of the time -- and in a fail case it is a 3-mana 2/2 that can give you some mutate value later on in the game.
Sanctuary Lockdown image 3.0 That can be truly devastating in some situations, where you have say 4 humans in play, and can just tap down both of your opponent’s blockers at the end of their turn. This means that this card is useful in multiple scenarios, whether being aggressive or defensive. Still, the Human deck is one that doesn’t always come together well in this format, and I think that hurts this card a little bit.
Dark Bargain image 1.5 We see this kind of card a lot, and it is always pretty medium. Even in a set with a graveyard deck, I’m not super pumped about this because of the cost.
Blade Banish image 2.5 This is situational for sure, but this format has a whole lot of big bois, so it is a little better than usual. It is also an Instant, which means you can sometimes really get a blow out.
Aegis Turtle image 1.0 Purely defensive creatures like this just aren’t worth it these days. Sure, it is an early non-Human you can Mutate on to in a hurry, but you’d much rather be Mutating on to something that gives you some sort of ability, instead of just being a vehicle on which to mutate.
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 As always, this provides excellent fixing. It lets you splash a card off of only a single basic land, and that’s great consistency. Even in a two color deck, the impact it has on your mana is substantial.
Pacifism image 4.0 Pacifism is a great card every time we see it in Limited -- which is a lot! Two mana to take away what are normally the two most important things creatures can do Limited -- attacking and blocking -- is just amazing efficiency, and it makes Pacifism a premium removal spell.
Ram Through image 4.0 This is a great removal spell for Green. First, it is NOT a fight card, but a “punch” card – that is, your creature damages the opposing creature, but it doesn’t get damaged itself! That makes it much less risky, even if you do need to be a little careful, since if your creature that is Ramming Through gets killed in response, you get 2-for-1’d. But the upside here is well worth that! As an Instant, you will more easily find situations that aren’t risky, AND it has the Trample upside that will sometimes be crazy. This is premium removal.
Spelleater Wolverine image 2.5 This is a nice little aggressive creature in this format, and it slots quite nicely into UR spells, but also into RW Cycling decks, since they tend to throw all kinds of cards with Cycling into the graveyard, including a bunch of instants and sorceries! Basically, it is way easier to get double strike online here than it looks.
Drannith Stinger image 4.0 5-mana for a 5/4 Reach is fairly passable, and adding a rummage mutate effect is fine.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Blazing Volley image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. There just aren’t enough things this kills for it to be a main deck card in this format.
Thornwood Falls image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Lore Drakkis
Eerie Ultimatum image 5.0 The ultimatums are all way easier to cast in this format than they would be in most. The fixing here is just great. This means that there is a very real strategy of drafting an ultimatum as a win condition in a controlling deck, and Eerie Ultimatum is one of the ones that just wins you the game if you cast it. It does require some set up, since you’re going to need permanents in your graveyard, but that’s pretty likely by the time you cast it.
Lore Drakkis image 3.5 So, getting an instant or sorcery back from the yard is a pretty nice mutate trigger, but the actual creature here is nothing very impressive. However, spending two Hybrid Red/Blue mana to get an instant or sorcery back from the graveyard is a nice rate, and of course it means that the more you mutate in one stack, the more times you get to do it. So yeah, the real draw here is the trigger, which means you will mutate this under stuff most of the time -- and in a fail case it is a 3-mana 2/2 that can give you some mutate value later on in the game.
Sprite Dragon image 3.5 This seems like a pretty sweet buildaround for a spell deck, and obviously that is UR’s thing in this set, so getting a counter or two on this won’t be a challenge. It is also made interesting by the fact that it is great to mutate on to. The +1/+1 counters will stick around on the newly mutated creature, and the other abilities of Flying and Haste will become part of the creature too. Most of the power of this card is in its textbox, and that’s just going to go well with Mutate every single time.
Excavation Mole image 3.0 This is a Grizzly Bears with some nice upside. Making mutate creatures bigger and gaining you a bit of life is a very real bonus. And, I think your average Green deck will probably have 3-5 cards with Mutate, so it will be triggering regularly in most decks in this format. Something to keep in mind too, is that if you Mutate ON to this, it will start putting counters on the new Mutate creature, something that might be the ideal path to take sometimes.
Sudden Spinnerets image 1.0 This doesn’t give a big enough boost to help your creature win combat often enough, and a Reach counter isn’t very exciting.
Convolute image 1.5 We see this a lot, and it is never that good. Leaving mana up for a counterspell is a big cost, and this one isn’t even a hard counter.
Crystacean image 1.5 This is supposed to be here for the UB flash deck, but that deck just doesn’t come together that often, and this has a pretty mediocre floor.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Serrated Scorpion image 2.0 As a ½, it can block the human tokens in this set, and with the death ability it has, it creates a 4 point swing in life. That’s not insignificant. This is not a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, nor is it a bad thing to mutate on to. But it isn’t exactly amazing in either of those cases either.
Frostveil Ambush image 3.0 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Mysterious Egg image 1.0 The flavor is cool and all, but I feel like you’d rather have a more exciting ability for Mutate, and a more exciting fail case than one mana 0/2.
Dead Weight image 3.5 This is always premium removal when we see it! You’ll usually be able to spend one mana to kill a 2-4 mana creature, and that’s always good.
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Jungle Hollow image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Glowstone Recluse
Regal Leosaur image 3.0 So the mutate trigger here doesn’t technically help you avoid a 2-for-1 most of the time, but it is powerful. Still, it is kind of an awkward card, since Mutate by its very nature does not help you go wide, so board pump on Mutate definitely feels weird. Still, it will frequently have a very real impact on the board state.
Glowstone Recluse image 3.5 A three-mana ⅔ with Reach is usually playable, and this has good mutate upside. You can use it to lend reach to a creature who really needs it, if you are mutating it and putting it underneath a big creature, but the more valuable option will usually be to Mutate with this on top, since it will be a ⅘ who also gains the abilities of whatever is underneath it.
Bastion of Remembrance image 3.5 3-mana for a 1/1 with the powerful “aristocrat” effect is not bad, and this can be especially good in Humans decks that are going wide, or in decks with lots of sacrifice effects, where this type of drain effect can really make it impossible for your opponent to find a good way to block.
Tentative Connection image 2.0 There are a couple of things going on here that make this a little better than most Threaten effects. First, when you can discount this because you have a Menace creature, it will feel pretty good – especially because Menace creatures already pair well with a Threaten effect. The other thing is, there are some efficient ways to sacrifice creatures in this format, and that means stealing an opposing creature and sacrificing it is pretty doable.
Frenzied Raptor image 1.5 Vanilla 3-mana 4/2s will make the cut sometimes, but you kind of hope they don’t.
Serrated Scorpion image 2.0 As a ½, it can block the human tokens in this set, and with the death ability it has, it creates a 4 point swing in life. That’s not insignificant. This is not a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, nor is it a bad thing to mutate on to. But it isn’t exactly amazing in either of those cases either.
Corpse Churn image 2.0 This is mostly here to enable the BG reanimator deck, and it does a decent job of that.
Unexpected Fangs image 1.5 As a trick, it gives a pretty mediocre stats boost, even if the counter is permanent. The best tricks drastically increase the chance of your creature winning in combat, and this just won’t line up that way often enough. Lifelink permanently is something I can get behind, but I feel like this trick has all the usual risks tricks have, without really being worth it.
Aegis Turtle image 1.0 Purely defensive creatures like this just aren’t worth it these days. Sure, it is an early non-Human you can Mutate on to in a hurry, but you’d much rather be Mutating on to something that gives you some sort of ability, instead of just being a vehicle on which to mutate.
Checkpoint Officer image 3.5 This isn’t QUITE Master Decoy -- they are identical other than that this costs an additional mana to tap stuff down -- but that’s close enough to Master Decoy to still be a pretty high quality common. Tap effects tend to be great, and it is a kind of pseudo-removal that is good all game long. It is better than usual in this format that is loaded up with huge monsters and Mutate, where tapping down one guy is bigger than it normally would.
Divine Arrow image 3.0 This is certainly situational, but also fairly efficient. You’re going to be spending only two mana to kill something, which will usually be less than your opponent paid for their creature. It might fall a little short of premium, but it is a nice removal spell.
Humble Naturalist image 3.0 This is a mana creature with okay stats, and those always tend to be nice inclusions in Limited Green decks.
Tranquil Cove image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Glimmerbell
Channeled Force image 1.5 This is not especially easy to make work. It lets you rummage and then damage stuff, but the set up of having to have a bunch of cards in your hand just isn’t going to be worth that a lot of the time.
Regal Leosaur image 3.0 So the mutate trigger here doesn’t technically help you avoid a 2-for-1 most of the time, but it is powerful. Still, it is kind of an awkward card, since Mutate by its very nature does not help you go wide, so board pump on Mutate definitely feels weird. Still, it will frequently have a very real impact on the board state.
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Drannith Stinger image 4.0 5-mana for a 5/4 Reach is fairly passable, and adding a rummage mutate effect is fine.
Whisper Squad image 0.0 // 3.0 This is unplayable with only one copy, but it gradually becomes more playable the more copies you get. Sure, paying two to get a 1/1 out of your deck doesn’t seem great, but it is actually some very real value, and an effective way to help you go wide. If you end up with 4 copies of this, it will become a pretty nice card.
Maned Serval image 1.5 This is a reasonably efficient French Vanilla creature that it is okay to mutate on top of.
Lava Serpent image 3.5 A 6-mana 5/5 with Haste would make the cut some of the time, and this has Cycling, giving it a huge upgrade in a format that really cares about Cycling. You can just throw it away if you get it early, and then in the late game it can be a problem for your opponent.
Nightsquad Commando image 2.5 So, if this was a 3-mana 2/3 who always gave you that 1/1 would be quite nice. However, you have to fulfill the “Raid” trigger here to get that 1/1. And while that’s not the craziest hoop to jump through, it won’t always be worth it.
Glimmerbell image 2.0 This is here to be something sweet to Mutate on to, especially early. The Flying and Untap ability on a much larger creature can feel pretty good! It has a decent fail case too.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Jungle Hollow image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Almighty Brushwagg
Momentum Rumbler image 2.5 This is a Hill Giant that gains First Strike permanently when it attacks, which isn’t a terrible card to start with. The fact it can then gain double strike on the next attack is nice additional upside! Now, this format has a surprising number of large creatures, and getting through with the Rumbler that first time isn’t always the easiest, but it is a solid card.
Void Beckoner image 3.5 So, an 8-mana 8/8 Deathtouch would not normally be something I want to play -- that’s because it is just so hard to get to 8 mana! But by adding cycling to this, it becomes much more intriguing. Cycling really lets you get away with playing stupid expensive cards, since if you can’t cast them, you can always turn them in for a card. It is especially nice that this Beckoner also has a trigger with Cycling -- giving something Deathtouch at Instant speed and drawing card is pretty nice. Even if your creature still dies in combat, you end up netting a card out of this, so that fact is offset, especially if you are trading a little guy who could previously only chump block for something scary on the opponent’s side of the table. This also gets an upgrade because BG decks can reanimate him pretty easily.
Sonorous Howlbonder image 3.0 So on its own, this has Super Menace -- and that’s a pretty good evasive ability. Three creatures being able to block this just won’t be the case a decent chunk of the time, and iti s nice that it also grants the same awesome bonus to other Menace creatures. Like all of these, it will definitely be making some creatures with that keyword ability better, but it won’t be something that happens all the time or anything.
Garrison Cat image 1.5 This is a one drop that replaces itself, which isn’t too bad. It is also something you can mutate on to very early, and still getting a 1/1 when your mutated creature dies is okay upside. You still won’t play this most of the time, but it can be passable.
Whisper Squad image 0.0 // 3.0 This is unplayable with only one copy, but it gradually becomes more playable the more copies you get. Sure, paying two to get a 1/1 out of your deck doesn’t seem great, but it is actually some very real value, and an effective way to help you go wide. If you end up with 4 copies of this, it will become a pretty nice card.
Convolute image 1.5 We see this a lot, and it is never that good. Leaving mana up for a counterspell is a big cost, and this one isn’t even a hard counter.
Lava Serpent image 3.5 A 6-mana 5/5 with Haste would make the cut some of the time, and this has Cycling, giving it a huge upgrade in a format that really cares about Cycling. You can just throw it away if you get it early, and then in the late game it can be a problem for your opponent.
Forbidden Friendship image 2.5 This is a reasonable deal for two bodies, and will help decks that want to go wide. It is a mostly better Krenko’s Command, since the dinosaur gets to have Haste, and that card is always just fine.
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Almighty Brushwagg image 2.5 This card is a real overperformer. A one-mana 1/1 with Trample is pretty laughable, but the ability is surprisingly effective, and you end up in situations where you can use it twice more often than you’d think! The Brushwagg is also great for mutating on to, since Trample and that ability are much better served on a larger creature.
Swiftwater Cliffs image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Mosscoat Goriak
Indatha Crystal image 2.5 The crystals all provide good fixing – something you want a lot of the time in this format – and they all have Cycling, which means when you draw one and don’t really need the fixing, you can just throw it away to draw another card.
Void Beckoner image 3.5 So, an 8-mana 8/8 Deathtouch would not normally be something I want to play -- that’s because it is just so hard to get to 8 mana! But by adding cycling to this, it becomes much more intriguing. Cycling really lets you get away with playing stupid expensive cards, since if you can’t cast them, you can always turn them in for a card. It is especially nice that this Beckoner also has a trigger with Cycling -- giving something Deathtouch at Instant speed and drawing card is pretty nice. Even if your creature still dies in combat, you end up netting a card out of this, so that fact is offset, especially if you are trading a little guy who could previously only chump block for something scary on the opponent’s side of the table. This also gets an upgrade because BG decks can reanimate him pretty easily.
Savai Sabertooth image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be fine two drops for aggressive decks.
Mosscoat Goriak image 2.0 This is some decent stats for three mana, especially because with Vigilance, he will often be able to attack on boards where he also happens to be a good blocker, and Vigilance lets him do both.
Imposing Vantasaur image 3.0 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is a pretty high pick, and way better than it looks! It can be a big defensive creature if that’s what you need, but you can also just throw it away to look for something better – while also triggering all of your cycling payoffs.
Corpse Churn image 2.0 This is mostly here to enable the BG reanimator deck, and it does a decent job of that.
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Drannith Stinger image 4.0 5-mana for a 5/4 Reach is fairly passable, and adding a rummage mutate effect is fine.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Island image
Pack 2 Pick 7: Ram Through
Zagoth Crystal image 2.5 The crystals all provide good fixing – something you want a lot of the time in this format – and they all have Cycling, which means when you draw one and don’t really need the fixing, you can just throw it away to draw another card.
Frost Lynx image 3.5 This type of tempo creature is always great for Blue. You get to add a 2/2 to your board while significantly impacting the board state. Tapping something down could mean that you suddenly have really good attacks. It could also mean that you buy yourself some time against an aggro deck.
Ram Through image 4.0 This is a great removal spell for Green. First, it is NOT a fight card, but a “punch” card – that is, your creature damages the opposing creature, but it doesn’t get damaged itself! That makes it much less risky, even if you do need to be a little careful, since if your creature that is Ramming Through gets killed in response, you get 2-for-1’d. But the upside here is well worth that! As an Instant, you will more easily find situations that aren’t risky, AND it has the Trample upside that will sometimes be crazy. This is premium removal.
Pyroceratops image 3.0 This is a nice spell payoff that can big in a hurry, which feels good when you have Trample along for the ride.
Gloom Pangolin image 1.0 A ⅕ for 3 might be something you play in slower more controlling decks sometimes -- it can block pretty effectively, but I think most of the time you won’t REALLY want this, and you’ll play it when you’re desperate for creatures, and that’s about it.
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Cathartic Reunion image 1.5 This is a reprint, and one that would be better in a set that has more of a graveyard theme. In this set, it is mostly just a fine 23rd card, like Tormenting Voice effects often are. It is a nice way to dig deeper into your deck, even if you do have some considerable set up costs in discarding two cards.
Island image
Pack 2 Pick 8: Humble Naturalist
Mystic Subdual image 3.0 This doesn’t get a rid of a blocker entirely, but it does completely shut off an opposing creature, even hosing Mutate! That’s a pretty good deal for two mana.
Survivors' Bond image 2.0 If you can set this up reliably to get two cards back from your graveyard, it is a decent thing to have a singleton copy of, since in the late game it can really pull you ahead.
Spelleater Wolverine image 2.5 This is a nice little aggressive creature in this format, and it slots quite nicely into UR spells, but also into RW Cycling decks, since they tend to throw all kinds of cards with Cycling into the graveyard, including a bunch of instants and sorceries! Basically, it is way easier to get double strike online here than it looks.
Convolute image 1.5 We see this a lot, and it is never that good. Leaving mana up for a counterspell is a big cost, and this one isn’t even a hard counter.
Humble Naturalist image 3.0 This is a mana creature with okay stats, and those always tend to be nice inclusions in Limited Green decks.
Almighty Brushwagg image 2.5 This card is a real overperformer. A one-mana 1/1 with Trample is pretty laughable, but the ability is surprisingly effective, and you end up in situations where you can use it twice more often than you’d think! The Brushwagg is also great for mutating on to, since Trample and that ability are much better served on a larger creature.
Blisterspit Gremlin image 2.0 This can ping stuff repeatedly, but having to use mana to do it does downgrade it significantly from similar cards we have seen.
Blossoming Sands image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Thornwood Falls
Sanctuary Lockdown image 3.0 That can be truly devastating in some situations, where you have say 4 humans in play, and can just tap down both of your opponent’s blockers at the end of their turn. This means that this card is useful in multiple scenarios, whether being aggressive or defensive. Still, the Human deck is one that doesn’t always come together well in this format, and I think that hurts this card a little bit.
Dark Bargain image 1.5 We see this kind of card a lot, and it is always pretty medium. Even in a set with a graveyard deck, I’m not super pumped about this because of the cost.
Aegis Turtle image 1.0 Purely defensive creatures like this just aren’t worth it these days. Sure, it is an early non-Human you can Mutate on to in a hurry, but you’d much rather be Mutating on to something that gives you some sort of ability, instead of just being a vehicle on which to mutate.
Spelleater Wolverine image 2.5 This is a nice little aggressive creature in this format, and it slots quite nicely into UR spells, but also into RW Cycling decks, since they tend to throw all kinds of cards with Cycling into the graveyard, including a bunch of instants and sorceries! Basically, it is way easier to get double strike online here than it looks.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Blazing Volley image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. There just aren’t enough things this kills for it to be a main deck card in this format.
Thornwood Falls image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Excavation Mole
Excavation Mole image 3.0 This is a Grizzly Bears with some nice upside. Making mutate creatures bigger and gaining you a bit of life is a very real bonus. And, I think your average Green deck will probably have 3-5 cards with Mutate, so it will be triggering regularly in most decks in this format. Something to keep in mind too, is that if you Mutate ON to this, it will start putting counters on the new Mutate creature, something that might be the ideal path to take sometimes.
Sudden Spinnerets image 1.0 This doesn’t give a big enough boost to help your creature win combat often enough, and a Reach counter isn’t very exciting.
Convolute image 1.5 We see this a lot, and it is never that good. Leaving mana up for a counterspell is a big cost, and this one isn’t even a hard counter.
Crystacean image 1.5 This is supposed to be here for the UB flash deck, but that deck just doesn’t come together that often, and this has a pretty mediocre floor.
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Jungle Hollow image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Humble Naturalist
Frenzied Raptor image 1.5 Vanilla 3-mana 4/2s will make the cut sometimes, but you kind of hope they don’t.
Unexpected Fangs image 1.5 As a trick, it gives a pretty mediocre stats boost, even if the counter is permanent. The best tricks drastically increase the chance of your creature winning in combat, and this just won’t line up that way often enough. Lifelink permanently is something I can get behind, but I feel like this trick has all the usual risks tricks have, without really being worth it.
Aegis Turtle image 1.0 Purely defensive creatures like this just aren’t worth it these days. Sure, it is an early non-Human you can Mutate on to in a hurry, but you’d much rather be Mutating on to something that gives you some sort of ability, instead of just being a vehicle on which to mutate.
Humble Naturalist image 3.0 This is a mana creature with okay stats, and those always tend to be nice inclusions in Limited Green decks.
Tranquil Cove image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Jungle Hollow
Channeled Force image 1.5 This is not especially easy to make work. It lets you rummage and then damage stuff, but the set up of having to have a bunch of cards in your hand just isn’t going to be worth that a lot of the time.
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Jungle Hollow image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Convolute
Convolute image 1.5 We see this a lot, and it is never that good. Leaving mana up for a counterspell is a big cost, and this one isn’t even a hard counter.
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Swiftwater Cliffs image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Savai Sabertooth
Savai Sabertooth image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be fine two drops for aggressive decks.
Island image
Pack 2 Pick 15: Island
Island image
Pack 3 Pick 1: Migratory Greathorn
Slitherwisp image 4.0 Making every card with flash draw you a card and do 1 to your opponent is just a crazy good trigger. A 3 -mana 3/2 with Flash is usually a C or so too, so you have a reasonable floor here. You can Flash it in to eat smaller creatures or just to trade -- although that latter option doesn’t sound super attractive given this guy’s ability.
Sprite Dragon image 3.5 This seems like a pretty sweet buildaround for a spell deck, and obviously that is UR’s thing in this set, so getting a counter or two on this won’t be a challenge. It is also made interesting by the fact that it is great to mutate on to. The +1/+1 counters will stick around on the newly mutated creature, and the other abilities of Flying and Haste will become part of the creature too. Most of the power of this card is in its textbox, and that’s just going to go well with Mutate every single time.
Charge of the Forever-Beast image 3.0 When this works, it feels pretty good – but there are a lot of times where this doesn’t do anything – like if you don’t have a creature in your hand of a large enough size for the spell to actually matter, and that happens more often than you might think.
Necropanther image 4.0 Lots of times in the early game, you won’t be able to do anything with that Mutate ability, and in those cases just played it as a 3-mana 3/3 is probably wise, since it means if you Mutate on to it in the later game, you’ll still get that trigger. And yeah, in the later game, when you can get something out of Mutating it, it will feel pretty good to do, becuase it also makes sure you don’t get 2-for-1’d. This is another one with Hybrid mana too, so you can conceivably play it in a wide variety of color combinations.
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 As always, this provides excellent fixing. It lets you splash a card off of only a single basic land, and that’s great consistency. Even in a two color deck, the impact it has on your mana is substantial.
Of One Mind image 3.0 I am usually interested in running one Divination in most Limited formats, and this is a strictly better one since its cost can be reduced. If you are consistently casting this for one, it will be absolutely silly -- but the requirement it asks for, while doable, isn’t the kind of thing that will just always be the case.
Checkpoint Officer image 3.5 This isn’t QUITE Master Decoy -- they are identical other than that this costs an additional mana to tap stuff down -- but that’s close enough to Master Decoy to still be a pretty high quality common. Tap effects tend to be great, and it is a kind of pseudo-removal that is good all game long. It is better than usual in this format that is loaded up with huge monsters and Mutate, where tapping down one guy is bigger than it normally would.
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Farfinder image 3.5 We have seen cards like Skittering Surveyor and Pilgrim’s Eye be really nice sources of fixing in the past. And this set is a wedge set, where splashing a third color and even straight up playing a third color will happen a decent chunk of the time. On top of that, this is not the worst thing to Mutate on top of, since it at least gives your new monster the Vigilance keyword.
Fire Prophecy image 4.0 Two mana for three damage to a creature at instant speed is already premium, because it tends to be efficient enough to trade up pretty often. But, adding this card selection ability is a nice upgrade It will play much like rummaging would, except that you don’t get the card in the graveyard, so sometimes it will be weaker that rummage, but most of the time you wouldn’t know the difference. This is definitely premium removal -- kills something and then helps you find more gas, and I always like that.
Ram Through image 4.0 This is a great removal spell for Green. First, it is NOT a fight card, but a “punch” card – that is, your creature damages the opposing creature, but it doesn’t get damaged itself! That makes it much less risky, even if you do need to be a little careful, since if your creature that is Ramming Through gets killed in response, you get 2-for-1’d. But the upside here is well worth that! As an Instant, you will more easily find situations that aren’t risky, AND it has the Trample upside that will sometimes be crazy. This is premium removal.
Corpse Churn image 2.0 This is mostly here to enable the BG reanimator deck, and it does a decent job of that.
Phase Dolphin image 2.5 This is a decent creature early since it can help others get in, and it can be particularly nice to mutate on to.
Migratory Greathorn image 3.0 This is another decent peace of fixing and ramp for Green. Paying 3 mana to put this under something bigger, or on top of something smaller, while also searching up a land is a nice deal to me. It helps you splash while also giving you some Mutate synergy.
Bloodfell Caves image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Trumpeting Gnarr
Ruinous Ultimatum image 5.0 This is easier to cast than it looks, and it will win you the game 99% of the time when you cast it. A one-sided board wipe is just crazy.
Stormwild Capridor image 2.5 The Capridor is immune to damaging spells, and even gets bigger from them, which is kind of cool. That type of effect is a little situational, but you can actually take advantage of it yourself – sometimes it is right to turn your Divine Arrow into a combat tricks, especially because it turns this into a 5/7 that can end the game in a hurry. It is also a great creature to have at the bottom of a mutate pile, because Flying + that ability are pretty sweet.
Trumpeting Gnarr image 4.0 A 3-mana 3/3 is a nice baseline, and then this has a Mutate ability that offsets the risk of getting 2-for-1’d since it makes you a token every time. That mutate ability definitely isn’t efficient, but you’ll be surprised at how good it feels despite that
Sudden Spinnerets image 1.0 This doesn’t give a big enough boost to help your creature win combat often enough, and a Reach counter isn’t very exciting.
Humble Naturalist image 3.0 This is a mana creature with okay stats, and those always tend to be nice inclusions in Limited Green decks.
Unlikely Aid image 2.0 While the boost it gives is not permanent, 2 power + indestructible is going to make a wider variety of creatures win combat in a wider variety of situations. Because of indestructible, you can use it in response to removal and things like that too if it comes up. Now, this is STILL a trick, and I have a hard time ever really loving them because they are situational and somewhat risky, but this is a trick you’ll play a significant amount of the time.
Gust of Wind image 3.0 Even if this always cost 4, it would be a decent card. Bouncing something and drawing a card feels pretty great tempo-wise! But the great news is, this will often cost 2, and you don’t even have to try that hard to make that happen, since you’re playing blue.
Savai Sabertooth image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be fine two drops for aggressive decks.
Fire Prophecy image 4.0 Two mana for three damage to a creature at instant speed is already premium, because it tends to be efficient enough to trade up pretty often. But, adding this card selection ability is a nice upgrade It will play much like rummaging would, except that you don’t get the card in the graveyard, so sometimes it will be weaker that rummage, but most of the time you wouldn’t know the difference. This is definitely premium removal -- kills something and then helps you find more gas, and I always like that.
Divine Arrow image 3.0 This is certainly situational, but also fairly efficient. You’re going to be spending only two mana to kill something, which will usually be less than your opponent paid for their creature. It might fall a little short of premium, but it is a nice removal spell.
Gloom Pangolin image 1.0 A ⅕ for 3 might be something you play in slower more controlling decks sometimes -- it can block pretty effectively, but I think most of the time you won’t REALLY want this, and you’ll play it when you’re desperate for creatures, and that’s about it.
Greater Sandwurm image 3.5 This is an imposing presence if you can play it as a creature – but it is super expensive! The good news is that it has Cycling, so you can just throw it away early. This especially potent in the BG reanimator deck, as this is something you can throw away on turn two, and then reanimate on turn 4 or 5, which is often enough to win the game.
Convolute image 1.5 We see this a lot, and it is never that good. Leaving mana up for a counterspell is a big cost, and this one isn’t even a hard counter.
Wind-Scarred Crag image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Archipelagore
Pouncing Shoreshark image 3.5 So, by giving a Mutate creature Flash, you open up some very interesting options. For one thing, the mutate trigger here is excellent -- bouncing something at instant speed is huge, especially in this format with Mutate all over the place. You can also Flash it in to make a creature suddenly larger so that it can win combat, in addition to bouncing something else. Then, like all of these, you can potentially trigger the Mutate effect multiple times, and then things will be really silly!
Archipelagore image 4.0 The ideal thing you want to do is play this for the Mutate cost, since it gives you a discount on the card and gives you the powerful Mutate trigger -- tapping down one of your opponent’s creatures for a turn is no joke, especially because if you put the Archipelagore on to something that was on the battlefield the previous turn (which is likely) it can get in there and rumble right away! Obviously, the more it mutates, the more tapping you get to do, and that’s awesome. And yeah, doesn’t hurt that if you have this and no creatures, you can at least pay 7 mana for a 7/7 with some Mutate upside.
Fight as One image 2.5 I start to be very interested in tricks once they have the possibility of allowing you to 2-for-1 your opponent for very little mana, and that’s definitely what we have here. In addition to that, because indestructibility is granted, you can use it to blank most removal spells too -- and generally at a price much cheaper than what your opponent is paying. This has a fine floor of +1/+1 and indestructibility, and a very impressive ceieling when you can give two things the boost -- and yeah, sometimes that will blow out the opponent.
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
Imposing Vantasaur image 3.0 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is a pretty high pick, and way better than it looks! It can be a big defensive creature if that’s what you need, but you can also just throw it away to look for something better – while also triggering all of your cycling payoffs.
Thwart the Enemy image 0.0 Fogs are bad in Limited. Next!
Gust of Wind image 3.0 Even if this always cost 4, it would be a decent card. Bouncing something and drawing a card feels pretty great tempo-wise! But the great news is, this will often cost 2, and you don’t even have to try that hard to make that happen, since you’re playing blue.
Prickly Marmoset image 3.5 This is another very good Cycling payoff who can make life a nightmare for your opponent. Every single time you attack with this your opponent has to make a choice between potentially taking a ton of damage to the face, or throwing a creature in front of it that will probably just die, since First Strike and even just one +2/+0 is enough to make the Marmoset win combat most of the time.
Unexpected Fangs image 1.5 As a trick, it gives a pretty mediocre stats boost, even if the counter is permanent. The best tricks drastically increase the chance of your creature winning in combat, and this just won’t line up that way often enough. Lifelink permanently is something I can get behind, but I feel like this trick has all the usual risks tricks have, without really being worth it.
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Hampering Snare image 2.5 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Plains image
Pack 3 Pick 4: Almighty Brushwagg
Huntmaster Liger image 2.5 A 4-mana ¾ with some Mutate upside is what this is in its most basic form, and that’s fine -- especially because the Mutate upside is pretty powerful, pumping your whole team. Now, it is sort of an awkward card in that Mutate expressly asks you not to go wide, so you’re not always going to be able to get a huge boost out of Mutate here, but it still does enough to make the cut most of the time.
Jubilant Skybonder image 3.0 This has wind drake stats and makes your flyers – including itself – harder to kill. That’s not a bad deal.
Frostveil Ambush image 3.0 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Memory Leak image 3.5 This is a situational discard effect that becomes useless in the late game. However! It has Cycling 1, and that gives everything a big upgrade in this format – you can cycle it away when it doesn’t do a thing, and when it can do a thing it isn’t too shabby.
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Almighty Brushwagg image 2.5 This card is a real overperformer. A one-mana 1/1 with Trample is pretty laughable, but the ability is surprisingly effective, and you end up in situations where you can use it twice more often than you’d think! The Brushwagg is also great for mutating on to, since Trample and that ability are much better served on a larger creature.
Maned Serval image 1.5 This is a reasonably efficient French Vanilla creature that it is okay to mutate on top of.
Savai Sabertooth image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be fine two drops for aggressive decks.
Flycatcher Giraffid image 2.0 Neither option here is great, but neither is bad, either.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Daysquad Marshal image 2.5 This gives you two bodies with one card, and 4/4 worth of stats. In most sets that a solid card, and that’s what it is here.
Rugged Highlands image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Ram Through
Charge of the Forever-Beast image 3.0 When this works, it feels pretty good – but there are a lot of times where this doesn’t do anything – like if you don’t have a creature in your hand of a large enough size for the spell to actually matter, and that happens more often than you might think.
Primal Empathy image 3.5 That draw you a card every turn are very powerful, it is the kind of card advantage that just becomes insurmountable for your opponent. And sure, you DO have to meet a requirement to draw that card, but even if you can’t draw a card, a +1/+1 counter every turn is nice too -- and obviously it also means that you will be able to get your creature big enough to start drawing cards with it eventually.
Blitz Leech image 2.5 This has an ugly stat-line, but by adding Flash and a nice ETB trigger to the mix, it really overcomes that. You can flash this into kill an X/2, and then use the 5/2 body to block something bigger, and that’s a 2-for-1! Sure, it is kind of an expensive one, but that’s real upside. Now, it won’t always be able to do that for you, and it is a little situational, but still -- I basically always like the first copy of this in my Black decks. Going beyond that is a bit much because of the high mana cost though.
Humble Naturalist image 3.0 This is a mana creature with okay stats, and those always tend to be nice inclusions in Limited Green decks.
Whisper Squad image 0.0 // 3.0 This is unplayable with only one copy, but it gradually becomes more playable the more copies you get. Sure, paying two to get a 1/1 out of your deck doesn’t seem great, but it is actually some very real value, and an effective way to help you go wide. If you end up with 4 copies of this, it will become a pretty nice card.
Sudden Spinnerets image 1.0 This doesn’t give a big enough boost to help your creature win combat often enough, and a Reach counter isn’t very exciting.
Phase Dolphin image 2.5 This is a decent creature early since it can help others get in, and it can be particularly nice to mutate on to.
Ram Through image 4.0 This is a great removal spell for Green. First, it is NOT a fight card, but a “punch” card – that is, your creature damages the opposing creature, but it doesn’t get damaged itself! That makes it much less risky, even if you do need to be a little careful, since if your creature that is Ramming Through gets killed in response, you get 2-for-1’d. But the upside here is well worth that! As an Instant, you will more easily find situations that aren’t risky, AND it has the Trample upside that will sometimes be crazy. This is premium removal.
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Greater Sandwurm image 3.5 This is an imposing presence if you can play it as a creature – but it is super expensive! The good news is that it has Cycling, so you can just throw it away early. This especially potent in the BG reanimator deck, as this is something you can throw away on turn two, and then reanimate on turn 4 or 5, which is often enough to win the game.
Island image
Pack 3 Pick 6: Neutralize
Neutralize image 3.0 Counterspells have some very real downside over a lot of removal, in that you have to be able to cast it whenever what you want to remove is cast. That’s not the case for other removal -- this makes counter-magic situational, and if it is hard to create that situation -- and leaving up three mana isn’t always possible -- that makes a lot of counter magic subpar in Limited. However! This is a good illustration of how Cycling can really change a card. By adding Cycling, you end up with a card that is much less situational -- in fact, you can pretty much always do something with it, even if that thing is just Cycling it.
Raking Claws image 3.0 Another situational card with Cycling, Raking Claws can sometimes do a whole lot as a trick, but when it can’t? Well, just Cycle it away and look for something else.
Frenzied Raptor image 1.5 Vanilla 3-mana 4/2s will make the cut sometimes, but you kind of hope they don’t.
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Helica Glider image 2.5 Most of the time you’re going to go with the Flying option -- but sometimes First Strike will be better. It is nice on turn three, and then later in the game a nice thing to mutate on top of thanks to the keyword ability it brings with it.
Spelleater Wolverine image 2.5 This is a nice little aggressive creature in this format, and it slots quite nicely into UR spells, but also into RW Cycling decks, since they tend to throw all kinds of cards with Cycling into the graveyard, including a bunch of instants and sorceries! Basically, it is way easier to get double strike online here than it looks.
Drannith Healer image 3.5 Another Cycling card that is better than it looks! This one is a bear with a Cycling payoff, in addition to having the great 1 mana Cycling effect.
Phase Dolphin image 2.5 This is a decent creature early since it can help others get in, and it can be particularly nice to mutate on to.
Gloom Pangolin image 1.0 A ⅕ for 3 might be something you play in slower more controlling decks sometimes -- it can block pretty effectively, but I think most of the time you won’t REALLY want this, and you’ll play it when you’re desperate for creatures, and that’s about it.
Tranquil Cove image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Lava Serpent
Indatha Crystal image 2.5 The crystals all provide good fixing – something you want a lot of the time in this format – and they all have Cycling, which means when you draw one and don’t really need the fixing, you can just throw it away to draw another card.
Lava Serpent image 3.5 A 6-mana 5/5 with Haste would make the cut some of the time, and this has Cycling, giving it a huge upgrade in a format that really cares about Cycling. You can just throw it away if you get it early, and then in the late game it can be a problem for your opponent.
Maned Serval image 1.5 This is a reasonably efficient French Vanilla creature that it is okay to mutate on top of.
Bushmeat Poacher image 3.0 This is a very nice activated ability. Cashing in creatures for cards is always a nice thing to have in Limited, because it isn’t unusual for some of your early creatures to become kind of useless as the game wears on, and this gives you something really nice to do with them -- gaining life and drawing a card is great. Any time those two are put together I’m pretty happy, because the life you gain makes it more likely you’ll be able to use that extra card you drew before you die. You can also use it in response to removal, or on a creature who has been shut down by an Aura. This can also be used to sacrifice creatures who are blocking and would die anyway. A 4-mana 2/4 isn’t even the worst stats ever, and overall this is pretty nice in slower Black decks.
Heightened Reflexes image 1.5 When tricks cost one mana, I start to get interested, as the pain of getting 2-for-1’s is no longer accompanied with a big tempo hit, and it is just easier to have the spare mana around. Still, this boost isn’t amazing -- +1/+0 and First Strike will win a fair number of combats, but it isn’t really a boost that makes it happen enough.
Mosscoat Goriak image 2.0 This is some decent stats for three mana, especially because with Vigilance, he will often be able to attack on boards where he also happens to be a good blocker, and Vigilance lets him do both.
Thwart the Enemy image 0.0 Fogs are bad in Limited. Next!
Blitz Leech image 2.5 This has an ugly stat-line, but by adding Flash and a nice ETB trigger to the mix, it really overcomes that. You can flash this into kill an X/2, and then use the 5/2 body to block something bigger, and that’s a 2-for-1! Sure, it is kind of an expensive one, but that’s real upside. Now, it won’t always be able to do that for you, and it is a little situational, but still -- I basically always like the first copy of this in my Black decks. Going beyond that is a bit much because of the high mana cost though.
Island image
Pack 3 Pick 8: Weaponize the Monsters
Weaponize the Monsters image 2.5 This is a surprisingly good way to cash in expendable bodies, including those you steal from your opponents! It also really lets you find lethal out of nowhere.
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Thwart the Enemy image 0.0 Fogs are bad in Limited. Next!
Crystacean image 1.5 This is supposed to be here for the UB flash deck, but that deck just doesn’t come together that often, and this has a pretty mediocre floor.
Adventurous Impulse image 2.0 This is always a fine, very replacable card. If you need a land, it can usually find you one, and if you need a creature, it can do that too.
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Plains image
Pack 3 Pick 9: Of One Mind
Charge of the Forever-Beast image 3.0 When this works, it feels pretty good – but there are a lot of times where this doesn’t do anything – like if you don’t have a creature in your hand of a large enough size for the spell to actually matter, and that happens more often than you might think.
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 As always, this provides excellent fixing. It lets you splash a card off of only a single basic land, and that’s great consistency. Even in a two color deck, the impact it has on your mana is substantial.
Of One Mind image 3.0 I am usually interested in running one Divination in most Limited formats, and this is a strictly better one since its cost can be reduced. If you are consistently casting this for one, it will be absolutely silly -- but the requirement it asks for, while doable, isn’t the kind of thing that will just always be the case.
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Corpse Churn image 2.0 This is mostly here to enable the BG reanimator deck, and it does a decent job of that.
Phase Dolphin image 2.5 This is a decent creature early since it can help others get in, and it can be particularly nice to mutate on to.
Bloodfell Caves image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Greater Sandwurm
Sudden Spinnerets image 1.0 This doesn’t give a big enough boost to help your creature win combat often enough, and a Reach counter isn’t very exciting.
Unlikely Aid image 2.0 While the boost it gives is not permanent, 2 power + indestructible is going to make a wider variety of creatures win combat in a wider variety of situations. Because of indestructible, you can use it in response to removal and things like that too if it comes up. Now, this is STILL a trick, and I have a hard time ever really loving them because they are situational and somewhat risky, but this is a trick you’ll play a significant amount of the time.
Savai Sabertooth image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be fine two drops for aggressive decks.
Gloom Pangolin image 1.0 A ⅕ for 3 might be something you play in slower more controlling decks sometimes -- it can block pretty effectively, but I think most of the time you won’t REALLY want this, and you’ll play it when you’re desperate for creatures, and that’s about it.
Greater Sandwurm image 3.5 This is an imposing presence if you can play it as a creature – but it is super expensive! The good news is that it has Cycling, so you can just throw it away early. This especially potent in the BG reanimator deck, as this is something you can throw away on turn two, and then reanimate on turn 4 or 5, which is often enough to win the game.
Convolute image 1.5 We see this a lot, and it is never that good. Leaving mana up for a counterspell is a big cost, and this one isn’t even a hard counter.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Wingfold Pteron
Thwart the Enemy image 0.0 Fogs are bad in Limited. Next!
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Hampering Snare image 2.5 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Plains image
Pack 3 Pick 12: Rugged Highlands
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Savai Sabertooth image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be fine two drops for aggressive decks.
Flycatcher Giraffid image 2.0 Neither option here is great, but neither is bad, either.
Rugged Highlands image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Humble Naturalist
Humble Naturalist image 3.0 This is a mana creature with okay stats, and those always tend to be nice inclusions in Limited Green decks.
Sudden Spinnerets image 1.0 This doesn’t give a big enough boost to help your creature win combat often enough, and a Reach counter isn’t very exciting.
Island image
Pack 3 Pick 14: Frenzied Raptor
Frenzied Raptor image 1.5 Vanilla 3-mana 4/2s will make the cut sometimes, but you kind of hope they don’t.
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Island
Island image
Draft Pick Overview